Baklava

VERY VERY yummy x well worth ALL the time put in X used lemon juice and vanilla extract in the sauce as recommended in a review and it tasted perfect BUT will try the lemon rind NEXT time I make it, 'cause there WILL be a NEXT TIME xxxx

I made this recipe to take to a dinner party as my friends were cooking with a Greek theme. It turned out beautifully. I think it's an easy recipe to follow and it didn't really take me long either. The result was fantastic. In view of the comments from others I did tweak the recipe slightly (used a smaller baking dish as I only had one packet of pastry and I used some orange flower water in place of some of the ordinary water to add a bit more flavour to the syrup. I made the syrup first so that it had almost cooled and poured it onto hot pastry. My Baklava stayed crispy. I would definitely make this again.

One packet of filo pastry is not enough for this recipe, and 500g of walnuts are too much. Ran out of pastry after just two layers. I recommend that you buy at least 2 packets of filo pastry and use half the amount of nuts. It tasted like eating a spoon full of nuts in sugary syrup.

Altered ingredient amounts. I love making baklava, and everytime it seems easier. I tend to use almonds and walnuts. Because baklava is a sweet dessert, i decided to use 100g of sugar, 250g of nuts, and instead of lemon peel, i just used a tablespoon of lemon juice and vanilla extract for the sauce. I also used more layers of filo for the base, middle and top for the bakalva. It's a wonderful dessert that i'll definitely make again.

Really nice, I made them as more of an experiment and they went like hot cakes. I followed all the tweaks to make it even easier. I did find however that they were in abit long, only 6 or 7 minutes too long though. Cypriot boyfriend thought they were fab!

Altered ingredient amounts. This is the second time I have tried this recipe and it just keeps getting easier. A few tricks I learned this time: Make the sauce first, before you start to do anything else with the baklava. Let it cook while you are preparing and putting everything together, and let it cool while the baklava is cooking. I got the sauce started, and then chopped and prepared the nuts (I used a variety of nuts; almonds, walnuts and pecans). I lay out my filo before I start layering and cut it to the shape of the dish I am making it in. This made the layering SO much easier. I put a piece of cling film over the filo and then the damp towel. This helps keep it from sticking to the towel. I made an extra 1/2 of the sauce recipe and it seems like the perfect amount (I doubled it last time and it seemed like too much). It took me about an hour total to prepare and assemble. CUT the baklava after assembly and before cooking, and top with butter to make everything smooth and “pretty”. Put the cooled sauce on as soon as you pull the baklava out of the oven. I let it adsorb overnight. Easy and wonderful!! I will be making this for years to come!

Took shortcuts. This is an excellent recipe, time consuming but not difficult. The syrup was sufficient as well but here is a hint from a Greek person for those who says it is too soggy: pour hot syrup over cool baklava or cool syrup over hot baklava to avoid it all seeping to the bottom and becoming soggy. Also for convience I used a bag of finely chopped walnuts I found in the store, they were the perfect size and saved on chopping. Everyone at our Easter table was impressed!

I have made Baklava for about 30 years now, ever since my greek stepmother made it during my teenage years. At first it took me about an hour to assemble, but now only about 15 minutes. Here are the shortcuts to save time. I do let the filo thaw, but do not cut the filo and do not cover it while layering. I just drape the bottom half over the dish and then fold the top half over it, "painting" a thin layer of butter quickly. It is only necessary to lightly brush on the butter, not saturate. The more wrinkles the sheet has in it, the better. You just keep putting and folding the edges and that ends up making the baklava more layered and crispy. If it turns out soggy, it's from too much butter, not the sauce. Also, when you cut the Baklava before you bake it, use a sharp knife and cut to within a half inch FROM the bottom of the dish, so then when you pour the sauce into the cooled Baklava, the sauce seeps into every layer of the Baklava, but doesn't sit at the bottom. Then, cut all the way thru after the whole thing has completely cooled.

It's nice recipe

I have been using this recipe for years, and I just realised I never reviewed it. I have made it dozens of times, and without fail it always impresses. You should follow these tips that are suggested by other reviewers: 1) Lightly roast nuts prior to chopping (I always use walnuts). 2) Make 1 1/2 times sauce recipe calls for. 3) Make sauce AHEAD of recipe, and put in the fridge to cool. By pouring the cool syrup on the hot baklava it will turn out crispy. For any function, family get together or holiday, I always get requests for this dessert.